Just one quick listen to the opening title track “The Ridge” and it’s clear that Canadian singer-songwriter has that special touch which is rather remarkable as this is major label veteran Taylor’s first foray into Americana. The dark-skinned Taylor is of West Indian and Mohawk descent, suffering from prejudice toward the misnomer “Black Indians” while growing up. Although the setting for “The Ridge” is a happy place (more on that later) it’s also a metaphor for Taylor’s complex background of which he says, “When you look at me, I have dreadlocks, and I have brown skin but the reality is I’m not what you see. I am an Indigenous person of color, and I someone of grew in a predominantly white experience. The Ridge …It’s my way of pointing out the importance of innocence in a divided world.”
Musically and lyrically, the album my evoke some our best songwriters as Taylor draws from love, loss, and a yearning desire for all of us to prevail against numerous hardships. Musically, the album straddles the line between Americana, country and sweeping Heartland rock, but its lyrics and subsequent messages connect in a universal way. Yet, he has a remarkable gift for relaying tenderness, vulnerability, and heartfelt emotion.
Taylor recorded the core of the album with family members – cousins Gene Diabo (drums) and Barry Diabo (bass) from his growing up with family pow-wows. He produced with his friend, Saam Hashemi, and had some other collaborators including pianist/multi-instrumentalist Derek Downham, Miranda Mulholland (fiddle), Burke Carroll (pedal steel), and Hashemi (percussion). Hashemi purportedly went for a feeling that lies somewhere between the hazy, feel of “Riders of the Storm” by The Doors and the outlaw country embodied in Johnny Cash’s “Ghost Riders On The Storm.” Taylor had a specific strategy for keeping each take fresh by sending the players demo tapes just 48 hours before going into the studio. The production values are exceptionally pristine, adding to the effect.
Now, back to that title track, as we indicated. It’s already been released as a single and is an ode to the idyllic childhood summers Taylor spent at his grandparents’ farm in British Columbia. The seasons shared with his sister working on the farm are definitive to his identity. ‘The Ridge’ exudes innocence. The sense of place the song represents was the one that protected Taylor during his early life from the steep terrain he would navigate later in life. This is his thank you gesture.
His deep resonant voice set against a textured pedal steel warms “Human Race,” a standout track with its indelible chorus “Get out of this place, we all seem out of place, the human race.” His upbringing plays into this one as well. He comments, “As a mixed person, it’s like, oh, where do you go, and how do you connect with people? That’s all I’ve been trying to do, and my life experience as a person who is mixed helps me do that. These stories are all coming from a person who tries to fit in, but doesn’t quite fit in. That’s really what my work has always been about — that longing to be a part of something.”
His line “dry your eyes” in “It’s Not Enough” reminds of Neil Diamond’s “Dry Your Eyes” from The Last Waltz. Say what you want about Diamond, but that’s a great song as is Taylor’s. Another hopeful song follows in his swooning, crooning (‘there’s only one of you”) in the devastating love song “Over the Moon.” “Ballad of the Young Troubadour” brings some percussive energy and a singalong wordless chorus while “Be With You” settles into a reflective, acoustic-driven ballad, framing his lush vocals in another love song that morphs into some lovely melodic, piano-driven passages before ending as it began. The Buddy Holly-meets-The Texas Tornadoes “Love Enough” is another standout, with its animated melody and his passion in singing “love enough.” He ends on a high with a spoken word intro for the closing “Ola, Let’s Dance,” …”the brightest stars shine, open your eyes and dream.’’
All songs on the album were about and for his family. “I would go for walks in the forest for meditation, and I made videos of myself talking to all the important people in my life like I was writing them a letter,” Taylor says. “I’d talk about the things they did that might have hurt me and vice-versa, as well as the things they did that were amazing. So, this record is really just like full-on confessionals to the people in my family.”
Personal as it may be, this is one of the strongest Americana recordings we’ve heard year to date.
Photo credit: Lisa MacIntosh
